Sergio Guardia has been charged with breaking and entering and stalking after he allegedly twice entered a woman's home while she was away, authorities said.
A Virginia pastor who worked for the state's Southern Baptist Convention has been charged with stalking and breaking and entering the home of a mother of two, authorities said.
Serfio Guardia, 48, was arrested last month by Lynchburg Police Department officers after the woman installed home surveillace cameras on her property.
Marie Columna alleged the footage showed her former pastor entering her kitchen, and then entering her home the next day through her daughter's basement bedroom door. She released the video to local media outlets.
"It all started when my divorce was finalized and he would come to my house to help and that was always, you know, he wanted to help me," Columna told WSET-TV this week.
Columna said she believed Guardia had been stalking her for years but had no proof, until she recently installed Ring cameras in her home and on her property.
On Nov. 10 and Nov. 11, the mother of two said the cameras captured Guardia entering her home.
"This was the first time I knew about it and had video footage of it," Columna told the station.
Court records show that Guardia was arrested on Nov. 11 and charged with stalking and two counts of breaking and entering. The records do not show that he has entered a plea. His next court hearing is scheduled for February.
Inside Edition Digital has reached out for comment to Guardia's attorney.
Guardia most recently worked for the Southern Baptist Convention. The organization released a statement this week, saying, "Sergio Guardia is no longer employed by the SBC of Virginia. He resigned in November. We have been made aware that he is dealing with legal matters, and because of the legalities involved we have no further comment. We continue to pray for the Guardia family during this time."
The pastor formerly worked with Lynchburg's Thomas Road Baptist Church, the megachurch founded by the evangelical Rev. Jerry Falwell, as a Spanish campus pastor, according to his LinkedIn account.
In November, Guardia posted on his LinkedIn page that he was searching for a new job and "looking to be part of a driven organization geared to make other's life better."
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